News Brief

5/8/2013, Iyar 28, 5773

Jewish Man Arrested for Bowing on Temple Mount

A 21-year-old Jewish Israeli was detained by police after they suspected him of bowing on the Temple Mount. Any outward displays of Judaism are banned by the Muslim Waqf. The Temple Mount is under the auspices of the Waqf authority but Israel retains security jurisdiction. A Supreme Court order has technically allowed all prayer at the ancient holy site, but has also given the go-ahead for the police to restrict any behavior that may offend Muslim sensibilities and result in rioting. The suspect was arrested and taken to the Kishla police station in Jerusalem's Old City for questioning.

According to the Honenu organization, six other Jewish people were detained at the Temple Mount for similar suspicions and are currently still in custody.

Wednesday is Yom Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem Day which celebrates the date in 1967 in which Israel liberated the Temple Mount, Old City and the rest of occupied Jerusalem from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.